warbow

[ichiban]

my next bow project is for me (yay)
feel free to build along.(prolly finish b4 me)
i plan on building a series of bows capeable of being drawn to the ear so my first will be 40lbs at 33" the bow itll be spotty backed with blackbutt (i had fun on the last one) and will be 80" long.
startind dementions will be 1" at the center tapering to 1/2" nocks.

any extra/other design ideas would be grate.

thanks,
Dave

[TomMcDonald]

Good luck, make sure you you show us as you go.

[ichiban]

dose any1 want it as a build along??

[TomMcDonald]

dose any1 want it as a build along??

ye

[ichiban]

ok well ill do it then..... will be hard to stop to take pictures but ok

[Len]

Ichiban, did you see my yew warbow pics a month or two ago ? The main thing to remember with english warbows is the whole bow should be working , no stiff areas and keep tips as slim as possible. Even 160lb Mary Rose bows only had tips of 1/2". Best of luck with it and when are you joining Warbow Australia ? C'mon,if you're interested in the making, study and shooting of them its easier when your part of a group who share knowladge

[ichiban]

yeah len i would join warbow australia.....if i knew what it was but im guessing they enjoy warbows hehe please send me some info i would love to know more.

[ichiban]

ok to start im gonna use this spotty gum floor board, i wanted it to be 1/4 sawn but its not...so what can you do ok some pics of the spotty.
the blackbutt is also not quite 1/4 sawn so i will glue them so there grains head in opisite directions to reduce the risk of KABOOM.
and since it will be of a lowish draw weight(40lbs) but of a high draw length(33") hopefully its length will make the diffrence

[Len]

ichiban, I was talking to White Hawk before and he's going to get in touch with you about WBA
This looks like a good progect and a good idea to start low power and work your way up.

[otis.drum]

ichi,
who draws 33"?

....sorry i didn't read that it was a warbow. my bad

[White Hawk]

Hi Ichiban,
here is a PDF of for you on WBA. Its main objective is to keep people who shoot and or make warbows in the loop with each other so we can share information and observations. It is free to join, all membership requires is that you are shooting an ELB in the warbow style, which by the sounds of it you will be soon. Good luck with the project and PM me with your email if you want to be added to our database of WBA archers. i will be doing a run of badges soon if you are interested.

cheers

Gav

[ichiban]

with the knollage i have from being qualified as a personal trainer and using gradualy heavyer bows i dont think im going to pull anything off hehe.
geez guys now im really psyked about building this bow are there any WBA rules in regard to cross section of the limbs because i personaly havent had any succes with a HI-D cross sectionbut a flatend D seems to work fine for me.

Cheers,
Dave

[Len]

Dave, a flattened D, rounded square, rounded off thickish rectangle etc are all fine as long as they follow the 5/8th rule and don't look like a flat bow, they must be reconisable as a medieval English long/war bow. All those profiles were present in the Mary Rose bows and I can't believe English bowers who were required by law to make a certain amount of white wood bows for training etc would have made those bows with as deep a D section as their yew bows. bows to be called an EWB in WBA must not have any form of handle or grip fitted , must be tillered to come full compass and can be self or horn nocked and be a min draw weight of 70# @ 30" for senior men to be eligable for grading and comp shoots.

[ichiban]

ok so no leather wraps, is a strike plate or peck mark perfered

[Len]

Strike plate is very victorian so go with just a mark or bowyers mark etc to show where the arrow should pass

[pdccr]

I would love a build along dave, im building a spotted gum bow one the weekend with a mate so it should be fun. Will take lots of picies aswell

[pdccr]

I would love a build along dave, im building a spotted gum bow on the weekend with a mate so it should be fun. Will take lots of picies aswell

[ichiban]

hmmmm i can invent my self a bowyers mark or... hit the bow with a pocket knife what do you use a few scractches as per the mary rose bows or nothing (well nothing to most but you know your bow better than that)

[Len]

Usually I mark a small cross or circle. Maybe you could come up with a simple design you could use all the time as a sort of signiture.

[ichiban]

ok easy enough.....gota build the bow first could you pm with some info as to where you get your bodkins and shafts cause i would need about 34" shafts maby i will just make them 2 hehehe

[pdccr]

Do all warbows draw back to your ear?

[ichiban]

len or whitehawk are prolly beter to answer this but all english warbows where drawn to the ear, its known as "shooting in the bow" but other cultures as far as i know didnt do it (american indians for example) the welsh and frentch etc would have drawn to the ear

[Dennis La Varenne]

but other cultures as far as i know didnt do it

These blokes did.

Dennis La Varenne

[White Hawk]

I think you will find most cultures that drew a bow in warfare draw back to the ear and even the shoulder for added power, the Japanese did, Most of the Steppes horse cultures and as Dennis has pointed out African tribes as well.
This I would have thought would be considered the norm, our way of shooting now (to the chin or mouth) is a fairly new way of shooting, check out Grahame A's Avatar for more detail.

[ichiban]

ok well now i have cut the Blackbutt backing up and the spotted gum here is a picture of the glue up, there is a splice in the backing which is a simple 2" stagger

[ichiban]

i suppose your right lots of cultures did, wasnt really thinking ,i dont think the pigmes did/do, or the american indians i guess it depended on various factors.....

[greybeard]

Hi Len,

Were laminated bows [if you want to be true to history] found in the following?

Dave, a flattened D, rounded square, rounded off thickish rectangle etc are all fine as long as they follow the 5/8th rule and don't look like a flat bow, they must be reconisable as a medieval English long/war bow. All those profiles were present in the Mary Rose bows and I can't believe English bowers who were required by law to make a certain amount of white wood bows for training etc would have made those bows with as deep a D section as their yew bows. bows to be called an EWB in WBA must not have any form of handle or grip fitted , must be tillered to come full compass and can be self or horn nocked and be a min draw weight of 70# @ 30" for senior men to be eligable for grading and comp shoots.

Daryl.

[ichiban]

WBA rules state that the bow can be of laminated construction, besides this one is going to be 40 lbs not really a war bow is it??

[greybeard]

So if the bows can be laminated does it include fibreglass and carbon in the construction of the bow.

Is WBA trying to be historically accurate or merely renacting a time frame in history?

As to bow construction, anchor point/draw length does the following [if poundage fits the criteria] qualify for competition.

Brazilarcher.jpg (26.22 KiB) Viewed 4147 times

Daryl.

[Len]

Laminating can only be of timber,and why we allow it is because it in todays world yew is hard to come by and so by allowing laminate bows we can get more people involved with bows that approximate the original bows. So in answer to Greybeards question we are trying to be as historically accurate as possible but with allowances for todays constraints in regards to materials available. The bow pictured wouldn't be allowed as it has a grip fitted and bows must be recognized as following the Elb pattern which don't seem to have had any form of handle or grip. The archer also is using a type of pinch grip which I doubt would allow you to draw a heavy bow ( someone may be able to dissprove that ).